Vineyard Chill: A Martha's Vineyard Mystery (Martha's Vineyard Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Philip R. Craig (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 3, 2008 | Series: Martha's Vineyard Mysteries

For year-round Vineyard residents J. W. Jackson and his wife, Zee, winter brings its own beauty, with uncrowded streets, pristine snowy landscapes, and long, cozy nights by the fire. It can also bring danger. There's a chill in the air one January day when J.W. receives a surprising visit from long-ago pal Clay Stockton. Thrice divorced and still living on the edge, Clay has come to J.W. not to relive the reckless days of their youth but to ask J.W. for help. He's in big trouble and needs to lie low on the Vineyard. And it isn't just Clay who needs J.W.'s assistance; J.W.'s pal Bonzo has made a frightening discovery that may lead to the whereabouts of Nadine Gibson, a young woman who went missing on the Vine-yard almost a year ago. Bonzo once took Nadine bird-watching, and the circumstances connecting Nadine's disappearance to Bonzo are enough to make him a "person of interest" to the police. With two friends in trouble and his own family receiving threats, J.W. must summon all of his investigative skills to try to restore order to his beloved island home, where fishing and good food should always take precedence over murder. Featuring Craig's trademark mix of wit, suspense, and Vineyard ambiance, "Vineyard Chill" is a marvelous tribute to a much-loved author whose passion for mystery and Martha's Vineyard enriches every page.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Craig's final Martha's Vineyard mystery (after 2007's Vineyard Stalker), completed just before his death last spring, offers all the familiar pleasures his fans have come to relish—a swift-moving plot, appealing characters and beautifully described settings. In the dead of winter, retired Boston cop J.W. Jackson and his family are surprised by a visit from an old buddy of J.W.'s, Clay Stockton. Sailor, boat-builder, pilot and adventurer, Clay charms them all, but brings trouble in his wake. When two armed strangers later show up looking for Clay, J.W. steers them to the police for information while warning Clay, now employed by a local boat builder, to watch out. Meanwhile, the discovery of a bird's nest interwoven with the red hair of a young woman missing since the previous summer may implicate a bird-watcher devoted to J.W. in a crime. Three delicious recipes round out the volume. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Life on Martha’s Vineyard has settled into its comfortable off-season rhythms for J. W. Jackson and his family: school, work, and evenings around the fire. When J. W.’s old friend, Clay Stockton, comes to visit, the routine is initially altered but only slightly. Stockton, a globetrotting nomad forever beckoned by the allure of a new woman or an exciting job, becomes the focal point of the fireside chats. The unsavory aspects of Clay’s past surface when two L.A. hoods show up looking for a couple million dollars Clay may have stashed while working as a bagman for a marijuana dealer. In a parallel plot, the unsolved disappearance of a young waitress moves from the cold-case file to a search for a body when evidence turns up in a very unusual venue. This is likely the last Vineyard mystery—Craig died in May 2007—and it relies on the long-running series’ strong points: a literate, creative narrator; the appealing Martha’s Vineyard setting; razor-sharp plots; and a comforting backdrop of second-chance domestic bliss. Craig will be missed. --Wes Lukowsky

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Scribner; 1st Scribner Hardcover Ed edition (June 3, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416535586
• ISBN-13: 978-1416535584
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #700,846 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent Vineyard thriller, June 3, 2008

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Vineyard Chill: A Martha's Vineyard Mystery (Martha's Vineyard Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Retired Boston cop J.W. Jackson and his family are shocked when his friend Clay Stockton arrives unannounced for a visit in the dead of winter on Martha's Vineyard as mainlanders never come out in January or February. Apparently a local boat builder has hired Clay. J.W. likes the swashbuckling Clay, but also knows where the man goes trouble follows.

Sure enough not long afterward, two armed men come looking for Clay. J.W. sends the strangers to the local cops while warning Clay to stay alert. At the same time a bird's nest containing strands of human red hair has been found; hair that matches missing Nadine Gibson, who disappeared last year; the prime suspect is Bonzo who took her bird-watching just before she vanished.

This excellent Vineyard thriller is a terrific tale that pays homage to its late great author. The story line is fast-paced and filled with action as Clay lives up to his reputation and Bonzo becomes a person of interest; both friends force J.W. to act out of a deep sense of loyalty. Fans will feel the icy chill in the air as murder comes to the Cape.

Harriet Klausner

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The final J.W. Jackson mystery?, June 12, 2008

By 

Corinne H. Smith (Athol, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Vineyard Chill: A Martha's Vineyard Mystery (Martha's Vineyard Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Winters on the island of Martha's Vineyard can be cold and snowy, but at least they're nearly tourist-free. At least, that's the way Jefferson W. Jackson looks at the calendar. It's the perfect time to catch up with old friend Clay Stockton, who phones J.W. out of the blue and arrives on the ferry from Woods Hole soon afterward. But the former Boston cop is no dummy, and he can tell that Clay is running from something ... or someone ... or multiple someones, for that matter. While Clay makes yet another attempt to start a new life for himself, two goons from California show up on his trail. He and J.W. try to learn who they represent, what they're up to, and how they found him. In the meantime: new information comes to light over the fate of Nadine Gibson, the local redheaded waitress who's been missing for a year. The discovery of some of her distinctive hair woven into an old robin's nest is disturbing evidence for the inevitable. Can J.W. use his proven investigative experience to puzzle out both scenarios?

Avid mystery readers may find themselves holding their collective breaths as they turn the pages here. We all know the formula by heart: the typical plot begins with one death, and then a second body surfaces later to either confound or confirm suspicions surrounding the first. Nadine can count as the first one, even though the events in this book begin long after her disappearance. Since Clay is one of J.W.'s friends, we certainly don't want to see him end up as the second victim. But those hoodlums from the West Coast seem to mean business; and who knows how many others may be looking for Clay? Can J.W. interfere with the usual turn of events and reward his chum with -- finally -- a chance at real happiness?

For that very reason, "Vineyard Chill" is probably one of the best episodes in this mystery series. The invisible tension is heightened by the knowledge that author Philip Craig passed away in May 2007. (Especially apt and chilling is the life-and-death passage from Ecclesiastes that opens the text.) According to his web site, Craig left behind one unfinished manuscript that awaits a family member's attention. So perhaps we will someday meet up once again with J.W., Zee, Joshua and Diana. If we don't: well, the twenty-two encounters we already have access to will have to suffice.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good Vinyard Mystery, June 19, 2008

By 

Gary P. Carpenter (Williamsburg VA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Vineyard Chill: A Martha's Vineyard Mystery (Martha's Vineyard Mysteries) (Hardcover)

I have enjoyed the entire Vineyard series and was sorry to discover that this was Philip Craig's last since he passed away last year. JW does his usual good job of laid back sleuthing as always, interspersed with family life with Zoe and the kids, and the pictures of the Vineyard in the winter are heartwarming. If you have enjoyed the series this last one is not a let down.